EMBARGO: June 15, 2021, 10:30am ET | Image: Andrew J. Hawkins / The Verge
Elon Musk doesn’t like lidar, the laser sensor that powers many companies’ self-driving ambitions. He previously called it a “crutch” and said any company that relies on lidar for its autonomous capabilities was “doomed.”
Well, apparently Tesla is stocking up on crutches.
In its quarterly earnings report released today, Orlando-based lidar manufacturer Luminar disclosed that Tesla was its “largest LiDAR customer in Q1,” comprising more than 10 percent of the company’s revenue for the quarter. That translates to around $2.1 million worth of lidar, based on Luminar’s $21 million in revenue for the quarter.
In fact, Tesla bought so much lidar from Luminar, it helped offset a quarter-over-quarter drop in…
